WSU names Jake Dickert permanent head football coach
Nov 27, 2021, 7:26 PM | Updated: 9:18 pm
WSU head coach Jake Dickert holds up the Apple Cup trophy after the 2021 win over the UW Huskies. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
WSU won’t go into the offseason searching for a head football coach. The Cougars already have the coach they want.
WSU pummels UW Huskies 40-13 to finally snap Apple Cup drought
The “acting” part of Jake Dickert’s acting head coach title has been removed, as the school announced Saturday night that Dickert has been named the Cougars’ permanent head football coach. He becomes the 34th head coach in program history.
Reports of the news came less than 24 hours after Dickert led the Cougars to their first win over the rival UW Huskies in the Apple Cup since 2012, with WSU beating Washington 40-13 at Husky Stadium in Seattle on Friday night for its largest margin of victory ever in an Apple Cup.
It's official! Congratulations to the 34th Head Coach in WSU history!
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— Washington State Football (@WSUCougarFB) November 28, 2021
“We are thrilled to have Jake Dickert step into the head coaching role,” WSU President Kirk Schulz said in a press release. “Coach Dickert was able to bring together a team that has been through so much in the past two seasons and inspire them to not only keep going, but to fight harder. Coach Dickert loves Pullman, understands what it means to be a Coug, and most importantly, puts his players first. He is an asset to this program, and to WSU.”
Dickert also shared a statement in the press release: “I am extremely humbled and honored to be the next head coach at Washington State University. I want to thank President Schulz, (athletic director) Pat Chun and (deputy director of athletics) Bryan Blair for their leadership and trust in me and my vision for the future of WSU football. Pullman fits our family so well and we are so excited to be a part of this community for a long time to come. Go Cougs.”
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura reports that Dickert’s contract is for five years.
Dickert, 38, took control of the WSU football program on Oct. 18 when previous head coach Nick Rolovich and four of his assistants were fired for not complying with a mandate in Washington for state employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or have an approved exemption for declining the vaccine. The 2021 season was Dickert’s second as Cougars defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
Since taking over as acting head coach, Dickert has led WSU to a 3-2 record, with wins over Washington, Arizona and Arizona State, and losses to Oregon and BYU, both of which are ranked in the top 25.
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— Washington State Football (@WSUCougarFB) November 28, 2021
“Coach Jake Dickert has proven to be an exceptional person, coach and leader. He has the character, vision and plan we need to lead Washington State Football through the next chapter of our storied history,” Chun said in the press release. “We’ve been able to witness the positive impact he has had on our student-athletes in a very short of period of time. … When we made a coaching change midway through the season, we needed to find a special leader to guide this program going forward, and we have found that with Jake. His ability to steady this program and keep it focused over the past six weeks has been very impressive. Jake has a championship mentality which has been on display since late October and we are fortunate to have him guiding Cougar Football for many years to come.”
Dickert, a Wisconsin native who was a wide receiver at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, had never been a head coach before this season and has only been an FBS coach since 2017, according to ESPN.com. Before joining Rolovich’s staff at WSU ahead of the 2020 season, he was defensive coordinator for three seasons at Wyoming.
The Cougars (7-5 overall, 6-3 Pac-12) came up just short of representing the North Division in the Pac-12 championship game after Oregon beat Oregon State on Saturday to clinch the spot. WSU will finish its season with a bowl game that has yet to be determined.
Attention in Washington will now turn to the head coaching vacancy for the UW Huskies, who fired Jimmy Lake less than two seasons into his tenure earlier this month. UW’s season ended at 4-8 overall and 3-6 in Pac-12 play with the Apple Cup loss.
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